Ape Apps

Hello guys.

Ever looking for a way to eliminate your rivals quickly as in early stages? Here is a small guide for it.

Currently I have one way to achieve early game conquests, which the strategy harnesses and relies the high attack strength and mobility of the horseman.

There are a few things you should consider before taking this strategy.

• Starting Location Resources & Settlement
  This is the most important thing, since this will define how fast you can research and train these deadly cavalries.
  Personally I'll prefer settle the first city onto forests or grassland/tundra next to mountains. Forests and mountains lands can provide a good sum of productivity, under the premise of able to have population grown to work on these lands.
  Avoid settling on desert whenever possible, since in this case you have slowest population and productivity growth, this can cause rushing unsuccessful.
  Don't waste too much turns on moving your first settler, otherwise other empires will have extra time to prepare for any invasion, with more warriors or military advances.
• Starting Location Terrain
  Terrain will affect your range of early expansion, especially the water bodies. If your starting location is a island or a small continent with one or no other empires, playing normal strategy or other strategies are strongly adviced, since wasting early resources on just a couple of city is not a profitable business, unless their cities are on some good locations.
• Your Neighbors
  Usually your conquest targets on your neighbors first. Check where they settle on, this will decide do their cities worth to be conquered.
  If their city are settled in the woods or mountainous tundra lands, these cities will be your targets at first priority. Since these cities can be highly productive that they can produce things quickly. Occupy these cities will allow you to produce more military (or development, of needed) faster while wiping out a potential military rival.
  Cities on a vast grassland is a lesser but still important targets. With a high food output, though lacking industrial capabilities at early game, they still pose a problem empires owning these lands are still able to produce settlers, they can establish cities on some... Important locations, obtaining extra production line and defensive line that increases your difficulty of conquests.
  Cities on desert is the least valuable without mountains.

Research horse riding and rally horseman quick as possible. For the second research, bronze working is suggested since you'll gain defensive spearman units that will back your cities up if you cities are besieged.
Pick on a weak neighbor.
Pick a good timing that the target's military is neither defending their city nor strolling near your city.
Horseman can hit an undefended city twice (if not moving in the last turn), which is way more efficient than warriors sieging. With their high attack strength they can quickly take over small cities (without walls).
Make use of their good mobility. They can quickly retreat if heavily wounded.
Avoid attacking a spearman with a horseman. Since this is equal to suicide.
Don't attack the next city immediately after conquered one. Heal your horseman (by fortifying) to prepare for the next attack.
If your city behind the line is safe, consider build a barracks, since you'll have stronger veteran horseman rolling out from the city, further helping future conquests.
If most empires have developed military advances or built walls, you can begin turning your focus on development while fortifying your frontline. Or if the conquest has been successful, push your expansion further with military advances.


Hopefully this guide can be a good reference for players!